This past Saturday, from 3 to 5 PM, Feltmakers Ireland warmly embraced our community of wool and felt enthusiasts at the grand opening of our exhibition, ‘Bountiful.’ During this momentous occasion, we had the honour of Minister Pippa Hackett’s official inauguration of our recently published book, ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking.’ If you missed her inspiring words, you can catch portions of her speech on our YouTube channel, @FeltmakersIreland.
Your presence and support made this event truly memorable, and we’re excited to continue sharing our passion for feltmaking with you all.
The Committee
In every voluntary organization, there are individuals who play a crucial role in carefully coordinating the group’s various activities. Enclosed is a photograph capturing the dedicated committee members, standing proudly in front of our collaborative Floral Tapestry. This beautiful artwork commemorates the guild’s inception, marking two decades of passion and commitment since its founding by the remarkable Elizabeth Bonnar.
Tapestry Revealed
Below is a photograph of our floral tapestry. Each of the flowers was handcrafted by our members during our September Sunday Session. Additional flowers were created, too. Then, several members got together to hand-stitch the over 180 flowers onto the backing, a very large piece of wool felt. {Invigilating members are welcome to sew on flowers during their volunteer shifts}.
The opening was quite exciting, with many members attending.
Some of the artists and their pieces
Each piece in our exhibition features a photograph of the artist along with the statement they provided, sharing their unique interpretation of ‘Bountiful’ when they submitted their work for jury consideration. You can spot these artist statements in some of the photographs above.
Below is the ‘Box of Chocolates’ by Clare Brophy that Minister Hackett points to in her speech.
In closing, we truly regret if we missed the opportunity to personally thank you at the opening event, which, as we’ve mentioned, was quite the bustling affair! With an impressive turnout of over fifty attendees, including cherished friends, beloved family members, and passionate supporters of the wool industry, it was a testament to the resilience and dedication of our community. Despite the tempestuous weather on that Saturday, your unwavering commitment to our cause warmed our hearts. We cannot express enough gratitude for your presence and your support for the art of feltmaking. Your enthusiasm fuels our creative journey, and we look forward to sharing more moments of inspiration and collaboration in the future. Thank you once again for making our opening event a truly memorable occasion.
Link to Minister Hackett’s opening remarks – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4OztSN83iY
Copies of our Irish wool book can be purchased from our website – https://feltmakersireland.com/exploring-irish-wool-for-feltmaking/
Feltmakers Ireland 
